Supreme Court to Civil Body: Poor Parents Can’t Just Run for Compensation for Drain Death – Times of India

a 13 month old child of a worker died after falling into a manhole cover in Hisar (Haryana), prompting the Punjab and Haryana HC to order the civil body to pay compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the bereaved parents.
Hisar MC has challenged the verdict in SC He alleged that the drain was located in the Indian Railways area and that the High Court had wrongly ordered the municipality to pay the compensation amount.
A bench headed by CJI DY Chandrachud said, “A child died in a manhole cover. You want the grieving poor labourer parents to run hither and thither to get compensation? If you think that Railways is responsible for the open manhole cover, then file a case to recover the amount from them.” The bench said it was an interim order of the HC against which the municipality has approached SC.
“The HC will consider the evidence presented by the civic body while deciding the case and if it finds that Railways was responsible for the tragedy, it will direct the HC to refund the amount to Hisar Municipal Corporation.” TNN